The Negative Edge News Report 11.07.07
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 11.07.2007
South Park, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and more cowbells. Plus this week's game releases.
Welcome to The Negative Edge. I'm still recovering from the accident that I had a few weeks back. Fortunately, I was finally able to make an appointment with a Neurologist for Thursday. I didn't think that I'd be seeing a doctor for mental problems until I was at least fifty. Anyway, I hope that things get better soon. Otherwise, I may have to go on another extended break.
Let's go -
The News As I See It
I have no real news this week. The only interesting things that I found pertained to Guitar Hero and Rock Band. First off, this week's South Park will feature characters obsessing over Guitar Hero. The episode airs on Wednesday night on Comedy Central at 10 PM. Whenever the creators of the show do a video game related episode it turns out to be pure gold. This one should be no exception. If nothing else, you'll at least come away with something to talk about around the water cooler. As for Rock Band, it turns out that the microphone peripheral will be useable as a cowbell. Since Don't Fear the Reaper is one of the songs that will be playable in the game, many look forward to the day when they too will be able to groove like Gene Frenkle. I know that a lot of you don't know why the hell people are so excited about this revelation, so I placed a video of the SNL skit that made cowbell synonymous with Don't Fear the Reaper down below. You can also read about all the cowbell goodness here.
The Week In Releases
Yosumin (DS Import)
Square Enix. Puzzle game. Awesomeness? I wasn't expecting much from this. However, after playing the demo online, I must say that it is quite good. You can check it out here. Just click on the shiny yellow button. Make sure that you have a lot of free time on your hands! (note: the game might take a minute to load).
Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (PS3/360)
I was originally going to pass this off as yet another Dynasty Warriors spin-off/clone by Koei, but a former writer at 411 told me that the game actually pretty good. According to what I've read, this title is somewhat of a Dynasty Warriors and Kessen mashup. The action found in Dynasty Warriors and the tactics found in Kessen in a European setting? It might be worth a look. But don't take my word for it. Check out the demos and make an informed decision.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)
This'll be my first Fire Emblem game. I read that if you let a character die, he or she cannot be used again. Permanent death - I like that! I'm sure that most gamers will just reset the system when that happens, but I think that I'll go hardcore style and not do that during my first playthrough.
LifeSigns Surgical Unit (DS)
The first game in this series came out a year before Trauma Center: Under the Knife was released, so it would be a disservice to call this a Trauma Center clone. Lifesigns adds more to the table by emphasizing some of the social aspects associated with operations, so you have to interact with your patients before getting down to business. There is also supposed to be a good storyline that ties everything together as well as some adventure aspects. Overall, if you like these types of games, it would be foolish to pass this one over just because it doesn't have Trauma Center in the title.
Ontamarama (DS)
The trailer for this game is beyond weird. But don't let it scare you away. Ontamarama can be fun if you give it a chance. This is one of those rhythm games where you press the directional pad or face buttons that correspond to indicators that scroll at the top of the screen. What separates this from everything else is the fact that you also have to tap on or circle a group of Ontama (those blob things) on the screen before pressing the correct direction. Storyline-wise, you're freeing the Otama by tapping on them and then guiding them at the top so that they'll play the proper melody. Do you think you have it in you to tap and press quickly enough?
Puzzle de Harvest Moon (DS)
Like Bladestorm, my first impression was to dismiss this game as just a knock-off puzzle game with Harvest Moon slapped on the cover. Thankfully, I gave it a chance and learned that Puzzle de Harvest Moon was built from the ground up and uses some conventions that I have never seen in a puzzle game. It's a little hard to explain, but you can check out the Flash demo here. There's potential for some great Wi-Fi action if you can find enough people to play with, especially considering the fact that you can step all over the toes of your opponents (or vice versa) if you want.
Panzer Tactics DS (DS of course!)
I've been waiting for a game like this that could be played over Wi-Fi. This could be fun to play online if I can find people that, win or lose, will stay until the end of the game.
Neves (DS)
I somehow missed this one last week. Neves is yet another DS puzzle game. This time around you're given several geometric pieces that must be rotated and moved around in order to fit a silhouette that's placed in the middle of the screen. This one has over 500 puzzles that you can choose from.
Alien Soldier (Wii VC)
Here is another side-scroller made by Treasure. What sets this apart is the fact that much of the game consists of boss battles; levels that lead up to the bosses are often short and easy. According to the 'pedia, there are twenty-five levels and thirty-one bosses in the game. This is great for those of you who don't care about the journey and like to jump straight to the payoff. Oh yeah, this game has two difficulty settings - "Supereasy" and "Superhard." How cool is that?
Ghost in the Sheet (PC)
What we've got here is a point-and-click adventure game in which you control a ghost who must investigate some strange occurrences at a factory that was recently destroyed. Since you're new to being a ghost, you have to learn how to use your powers (like telekinesis) in order to manipulate objects. The game is supposedly filled with dark humor, which is something that I love in movies and wish that more games would employ. Now, when are we going to get a Wii port?
The Anime Circle
Sorry guys and girls. I'm going to put this off for one more week. Car accident. Brain trauma. Hard to think. Appointment with neurologist on Thursday. In the meantime, might I suggest Lovely Complex? It's a romantic comedy (yes, I like those sometimes) featuring a tall girl and a short guy and the trials and tribulations that they go through thanks to their unique situation. This is a concept that I haven't seen too much of in Anime. I have feeling that this series will be licensed soon, so watch it while you can. Hopefully, I'll be able to do a rundown next week. But why wait? Download. Watch. Enjoy!
A Little Bit Of Randomness It's my reality now. All you can do is live in it...
I'm a big fan of the Marvel/DC videos made by ItsJustSomeRandomGuy on YouTube. It looks like the next video in the series is going to be released this weekend. Down below is the trailer. I wrote about the previous videos a while back in this column. Check it out if you need some catching up to do. Trust me, the whole series is worth checking out!
To Be Continued...
That's all I have for this week. A strange rabbit with a red gem on its forehead is asking me to hide him from the Dark Prince. If I can keep the two apart, I'll be back next week.
